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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Another double posting day :)But I needed to show you this card as the deadline is tomorrow!I love the designs from Sugar Nellie and the sketches over at the Sugar Bowl Blog are always a challenge and I really like to complete them. The challenge this week was the sketch and "please include" was to use Kraft Paper and that seems to be a popular addition in scrapbooking and cardmaking right now.

I love this Nellie image(especially her Welliies!). I combined the Kraft paper with dp from Kay & Co and added ribbon and a punched border using a Martha Stewart punch. The sentiment is from Cloud 9.

The inside is pretty plain but uses coordinating papers.I hope you like :)Katie

Hi Everyone!The weeks are passing so quickly here and I can't believe it will be July tomorrow!I had planned on blogging every day but you know how it is, Anyway I have a new card for you to see today and it covers two challenges in one.You know how much I'm into digital images right now and todays's card showcases just that.Scrappy Frogs issued a Challenge asking everyone to use the same image. Well with a stamp that would be very difficult as obviously not everyone has the same stamp. But with a digital image that was provided FREE! by Dustin Pike it meant that anyone with a printer could have a go! The images from Dustin and superb at all sizes and very fun to work with.Another digital card blog Dare U2 Digi had a sketch challenge this week and so I thought it was perfect to combine both digital cahllenges.

The image they wanted you to use at Scrappy Frogs was the pirate background but as Dustin provided the other images free as well I thought I add them to the scene. They were printed with my Kodak All In One printer of Georgia Pacific cardstock and colored with Copic's and Prismacolor alcohol markers.Each image was popped up with dimensionals upon the background. The papers were from the Lime Twist collection by Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby. The sentiment was from the Paper Studio as well.

I added more papers from the collection to the inside and another sentiment from the same sticker set.I thought it would make a super cute birthday card for a little guy!I have 3 more cards completed for challenges to share with you this week so be sure either join as a follower or add me to your favorites so you can see them all.Have a great rest of your day!Katie

Saturday, June 27, 2009

It can't believe it but it's been a month since I started blogging and it has become something I HAVE to do everyday (or at least try to :))It has helped me with my card making as there are so many blogs out there to inspire me and challenges that just beg to be done.I want to thank all of you have become a follower and all those wonderful comments I've been receiving.I always want to thank Suzanne from ScrapBitz for the wonderful blog candy I won, so much in that wonderful box!Anyway I have another card for you today and it completes 2 challenges.

Over at Kerry's wonderful Three Clovers Blog they have a challenge to make a card relating to where you come from. Well it just so happened that I found a wonderful stamp at Joanns by Inkadinkado this week with a British Bulldog on it! Perfect for this challenge!I have lived in the US for over 12 years now but England is my heart and soul and never a day (or probably even an hour) goes by without me thinking of home.I colored this little guy with my Copic's and sat him on a scalloped circle Nestie.The layout I used came from the great sketch over at Cupcake Craft Challenges and I liked the combination of circle and square aspects to it.So I hope you like it and have a great rest of your weekend!Katie

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Happy Thursday Everyone!Verve Stamps are releasing new stamps this week and are having a week long party to celebrate.You can read all about the fun at Split Coast Stampers Verve Forum and see the great sketch they gave everyone to work with.If you did all 5 sketches you would be entered into a draw for all the new stamps!Of course I had to have a try :)The sketch #1 is also the challenge at Mojo Monday

For this sketch I rotated the sketch and made a square card instead of a rectangle.I used a digital image from Pink Petticoat In My Garden collectionI colored it with Copic's, the flowers are Prima and the leaf punch and border punch are Martha Stewart. The dp is DCWV. Also I colored the bow with my Copic's to match the flowers.

For this sketch I used an image from Digi Stamp boutique called Ruby. Again I colored her with Copic's, added Prima flowers, Paper Studio fabric brads and dp from DCWV The Garden Party stack.

More DCWV paper, this time from Nana's Kithcen stack. The digi image is by Dustin Pike and I just love how cute it is!The sentiment is a Studio G $1 stamp from Michaels.

The image this time is another from Digi Stamp Boutique, this time from the Lizzie Collection. After coloring her I added Diamond Stickles to her wings and star on her wand.The dp are from a pack by Best Occasions that I got from Walmart.The flowers are from the Fairytale collection by Prima and the pearls are Martha Stewart wedding collection. The sentiment is Melissa Frances. I used my scalloped circle Nesties on both the image and the sentiment.

The final image is another Digi Stamp Boutique from the same Lizzie collection as above. I had to use my Diamond Stickles again as her wings, wand and crown just cried out for it! LOLThe papers are from the Nana's Nursery Baby Girl stack from DCWV. The flowers are from the Bridal dept and the border punch is Fiskars.

I hope you enjoyed all the cards today, I feel tired just making this post!Katie

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Happy Wednesday Everyone!You know how I said I was reluctant to try digital stamps and then jumped in and loved them? well today's card features another digi design from my online shopping this weekend! Instant gratification and much cheaper than the rubber version (but too easy to buy as well, hee, hee!)This one I used for the sketch over at Friday Sketchers that this week was designed by Beatrix.

The image was from Pink Petticoat In My Garden Collection and it is a great little collection of imges. I love the fact that they come as a plain image and then the same image with a sentiment so you can print out both together and get a card made super quick! And of course you can resize to whatever you want.I colored the image with my Copic's and the dp is from DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy stack. I also colored the light blue flowers with my Copic's to match the theme as I didn't have any the right shade. The paper roses are from Prima, the leaf punch is Martha Stewart and the border punch is Fiskars.

As the outside hints towards an announcement (a little birdie told me) I added two journaling spots inside the card for extra messages and used my Nesties label to match the mat on the image on the front of the card.

I really love thr blues of this card and using digital images is getting to be a habit with me (be sure to check back tomorrow to see 5 (yes 5) new cards all made with digis for the Verve new release giveaway).I know I won't ever give up on rubber and clear stamps but I find myself "window shopping" and wishing that all the stamps were available in downloadable versions too so I could get my hands on them in just a moment :)See ya tomorrow!Katie

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Hi Everyone,You know how I did 6 callenges in one card last week?, well I've topped myself this time with 8 in 1!I've been so busy with other cards that to get every challenge I wanted to do in I had to combine and I hope you like the result :)This card covers:Rosie Dee's Color challenge - Pink and LimeSecret Saturday Color challenge - Pink and GreenAllsorts Theme challenge - Wings (on the butterfly as you can't see Tilda's, hee hee!)Our Creative Corner Theme challenge - StarsSketch Saturday Sketch #56Just Magnolia Theme challenge - SummerPile It On Color challenge - Purple (the butterflies are purple and a little on the stripes of Tilda's shirt)Lili of the Valley Technique challenge - Paper Piecing (I paper pieced Tilda's shirt and jeans)Whew, that was a long list and now comes the card :)

I tried to make it so it looked like Tilda was sitting on an open windowsill and the border punch was the curtains.I used the Tilda with Bee from the Chasing Butterflies collection and colored her with my Copic's and paper pieced her shirt and jeans. I used 2 different border punches both by Fiskars. The sentiment is from The Paper Company and the dp is DCWV Garden Party.

The inside just has coordinating papers from the Garden Party and Spring stacks by DCWV.

Here is a close up of cute Tilda. It looks like she has a halo from the sun but it was too late to restamp so I had to go with it :)I hope you have a happy rest of your day and be sure to check back tomorrow for a card using the Friday Sketchers latest sketch.Katie

Friday, June 19, 2009

As soon as I saw the challenge at Just Magnolia I knew I had to do it.I've been altering items for about 4 years now and to add a beloved Maggie to an altered item was just what I needed to do :)I'll warn you now that there are a lot of photos (7!) but I wanted you all to see how it turned out.

Here you can see that I chose a small wooden tray as the item to alter. It measures about 8" by 6" and is made of light weight balsar wood.I painted it all over with Kiwi paint from Apple Barrel paints.Then I covered the inside bottom, outside bottom and sides with dp from DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl.

The Magnolia images I used were Well Dressed Tilda fromt he Holiday 2008 collection and the School Books. I colored her with my Copic's and tried to make the dress look like it had cherries to match the dp. I don't know if you can see but I used Diamond Stickles on her wings, hairbow and tights to coordinate with the glitter is the paper.

I added a sentiment from Making Memories that says "A thing of Beauty is a joy forever". I added a glittery butterfly from the $1 spot at Michaels and flowers from the bridal dept.

Here you can see that I added dp and two layers of ribbon all the way around the sides of the tray (apart from the handle ends)

A quick view of the back showing that is is painted and covered with dp too.

The final two views are just from other angles so you can see all the details.I really loved doing this project and it was a nice break from a card.I hope you have a happy rest of your day, I'm off for a dip in the neighbors pool to cool off from this Texas heat.Katie

Thursday, June 18, 2009

I didn't plan on posting twice today but I forgot that Friday Sketchers has a Thursday night deadline, so much for my planning!LOLIt looked like an easy sketch and I thought "oh I can do that one quickly" of course it didn't work out that way.But at least it's done and when I saw the challenge at Charisma Cardz this morning I realised this would work for both :)

I used a "new to me" digital image from Digi Stamp Boutique called Lizzie with Handbag. I printed her on white and then on to some of the dp so I could paper piece her. I ended up paper piecing the dress, shoes, handbag and even the hairbows!I colored her with my Copic's and drew a little extra grass to finish the bottom of the image.The dp is DCWV The Sweet Stack, the flowers are from the bridal department at Michaels and rectangle is embossed by a Sizzix texture plate.The sentiment is from Joanns, I think it's Cloud 9 or Heidi Grace.The border punch is EK Succcess.

The inside is coordinating paper with some of the punched border.

I wanted to get a close up of the girl but the image is a little blurry, I'll try and photograph it again later.Katie

Another warm day in North Texas, it's not hit 100 yet but it will soon, I'm sure of that :)You know how I did 6 challenges in 1 card yesterday? well today's card only fills 1 challenge and it took me all of yesterday morning to complete (and I must admit I added a final touch just a few moments before photographing! LOL)There is a fantastic new blog called The Next Level and this week they have a sketch that I just had to do;)It is a blog I shall be going back and back to as it is like a magazine with all the tutorials, ideas and challenges.

I loved how the sketch had a curve and a pocket and a tag, so many things to play with!I used a new digital stamp called Daisy May that I bought from Cute Daisy May Digi Stamps and her childish innocence really appealed to me. I colored her with a mixture of Copic's and Promarkers.The dp on the front layer is Basic Grey and the back is DCVW. The ribbon is Offray and the fabric brads are Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby. I added a sentiment to the tag and to the inside, both are from Marcella by K "Eilza" from Target. I added a punched border to the inside of the pocket using the Threading Water punch by Fiskars.

The inside is pretty standard but I added silver borders (I love my silver Prismacolor marker!) and an additional sentiment to the message block.

I wanted to show you the tag as I think it turned out cute :) I added a tiny message block for a special touch.Anyway I hope you like her.Have a Happy Thursday!Katie

It was fun to do all the challenges at once and I hope I pulled it off OK.I used Tilda with Cowberry Muffin and colored her with Copic's and paper pieced her dress and muffin.The papers are DCMV Nana's Kitchen.

I used some coordinating papers for the inside.I hope you like her and I hope it inspires you to try and combine some of the wonderful challenges out there in blog land :)I also wanted to give you a heads up that I sell my cards on eBay and you can see the ones I have right now HEREOver the Summer I will be listing every Tuesday evening and even if you aren't a buyer it's always fun to take a look as there are cards there that you won't have seen here on my blog as I don't have time to share them all.Have a happy day!Katie

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Good morning everyone!It's a bright and sunny day here in North Texas and that means only one thing, temperatures will be climbing closer and closer to those triple digits :(I love living in Texas but the heat gets me every Summer! LOLLuckily our neighbors leave for a month tomorrow and as we are house sitting we get to use their pool everyday, that will make all this sunshine a little more bearable :)Now on to todays card.It was when we last went home to England (Christmas 08) that I started to be intrigued with rubber stamping. Everyone who paper crafts in the UK seems to stamp and the variety of images available was amazing. I hadn't been looking online then so my exposure had been Michael's, Joann's, Hobby Lobby and a little stamp store so to see so many new images in magazines was an eye opener. And talking of magazines, you've never seen so many card magazines as they have in England, my suitcase was weighed down with them when I came home :)One of the most popular new companies was Sugar Nellie and their images were cute and modern all at the same time.I found out that there is just one place you can buy them online and that is Funky Kits and they do ship worldwide ;) It wasn't long after I returned that my first package from them was winging it's way over the Atlantic.But it took me until this week to try one of their challenges!The sketch over at The Sugar Bowl is a killer with so many layers but I just had to try it.

I used a very cute image of Hamish with his flowers and gift. I colored him with my copics and added a sentiment from Scrappy Cats.The dp is DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy that I bought in store at Joann's and I added Prima flowers, K & Co brads and dew drops. Of course I had to use a border punch too and this time is was Fiskars Effervescense that I got at Joann's too.

As the front was so complex and layered I wanted the inside to be a little more simple :) So I used another coordinating paper from the collection and I think it works.I have a huge list of challenges I want to do and tomorrow I'm hoping to have a card to show you that combines 5 into 1 !Have a great rest of your day.Katie

Monday, June 15, 2009

Hello everyone!I woke up this morning to a wonderful message on my blog.I had won the 200,000 hit blog candy over at Scrap Bitz!Suzanne is a coloring god in my eyes and I check her blog everyday without fail, you should too and look at the great tutorials that she has over on You Tube.So I'm now going to be stalking the mailman so I can play with those wonderful new stamps by Victoria CaseAnyway enough of my ramblings and on to todays card.I usually do sketch challenges but the colors in the challenge at Colour Create were perfect for the cute My Sweet Lili by Sarah Kay.Also Stampavie's bi-weekly challenge is to use flowers so this works perfectly!

I colored the image with my Copic's and the papers are from the Baby Girl pad by Martha Stewart from Walmart. I used my Nesties to cut the mat and Quickitz Nesting dies for the circles. The sentiment is an old one from Making Memories and the flowers are from Hobby Lobby. The border punch is Apron Lace from Fiskars.

I kept the inside simple with just some coordinating paper are ribbon.

Here is a close up of the image as she is so cute!Today I made and mailed a Fathers Day card for my Dad back in England, talk about leaving it to the last moment :)I'm hoping to make some more cards this afternoon as there are more challenges that I just have to do!TTFNKatie

I used another Miss Anya image this time from the Rain, Snow, Shine collection.I colored her with my Copic's and used papers from another older DCWV Summer Stack. I stamped her on my Nesties Label 4 and matted her on a larger Nestie that I embossed with one of the new Quickutz Embossing folders.I added Prima flowers with fabric brads for the centers.The Summer ribbon is from last year's $1 spot at Target and the sentiment is from Making Memories also from Target. I used the Fiskars Threading Water border punch as it reminds me of waves.

The inside has some more tropical style paper to round off the Summer theme.It makes me feel like it must soon be time for a fruity cocktail, oops did I say that outloud? LOLHave a Happy SaturdayKatie

Friday, June 12, 2009

It's the start of the weekend already? Wow that week went fast :)I've only been making cards since September 2008 and only stamping since January 2009 but it has quickly become an obsession. I love all the wonderful images out there and the pleasure of coloring them takes me back to being a child.Opening a package and inking up a new stamp makes me remember the joy of getting a new "coloring book" and grabbing my "felt tips" to fill in all the pictures.When I first saw The Greeting Farm I was intrigued by the images and their character. After looking through the site I saw the Miss Anya Collection and just knew I had to have her.

Tha challenge at A Spoon Full of Sugar this week is to use butterflies. When looking at this Miss Anya I thought that her hairbow looked a lot like a butterfly and so it gave me a chance to use it. I love this paper from The Garden Party Stack by DCWV and it gave me a chance to work with my favorite color pallette.I added a handmade hatpin with a crystal butterfly on it. This bead is one of my favorites and I'll let you into a secret... it came from Walmart! They have really increased their jewelry making section and I've found lots of cute beads there.

For the inside I used a coordinating paper from the same stack, I love how it glitters and shines.Sorry for the bad photos today, my camera has my zoom lens on and it blurs it a little, I'll try and take some more later.I hope you are all fine and are looking forward to a great weekend. My hubby and son come back from Scout camp tomorrow so life will be busier than ever with everyone home!Katie

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Another double posting day!There are so many challenges and their deadlines keep catching up with me! LOLI loved this sketch over at Just Magnolia so much that after doing one for them I used the same sketch again for the Magnolia-licious Yahoo group July card challenge.

For this one I used the Tilda with Flowers from the Chasing Butterflies collection. I colored her with my Copic's and the dp is DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl stack. The border punch is Martha Stewart and the sentiment is another Studio G $1 stamp from Michaels. I used lots of Nesties too!

Inside I added a colored "Tilda head"! LOL

The Yahoo group challenge was to create a card with Red, White and Blue to help celebrate the 4th of July Holiday. I was a little stuck as which image to use so in the end I chose one that I thought would take the colors well.I chose Tilda with Slate and I think she turned out cute!The dp is from an older Summer Stack by DCWV and the border punch is Fiskars Threading Water. The rhinestones are from the $1 spot at Michaels.

The inside was simple with just an additional sentiment.Anyway the weather is still grey and a little rumbley so I'm going to try and get another card made this afternoon...it's an obsession I tell you!Katie

Monday, June 8, 2009

Wow, the weather here was a bit hairy last night. We knew the storms were coming but when they hit it was hard and fast. 70 mph+ winds, rain, more lightning than I've ever seen before and the sirens going off.When it all ended our next door neighbors one side had their lawn chairs at the bottom of the pool, the other side lost their gate and the ones behind lost 3 fence panels! Thank goodness my daughter and I went out and "battened down the hatches" on our deck just before it hit. It seems we all got off lightly in our neigborhood though as the news was showing trees down and roofs off just a few miles from us. Of course it hit when So You Think You Can Dance was on so we missed the first 6 dances :( Oh well at least we are all safe.Back to the reason you're here, I told you yesterday about my new love for digital stamps and todays card has another wonderful Cuddly Buddly image. I love how easy it is to print out an image and get to coloring within minutes of buying a new image, and no ink on your fingers! LOL

This time I used Bobbie and Friends and more of the wonderful papers from The Green Stack. I've bought many DCWV stacks but I've never used a whole one and never considered buying a duplicate, the Green stack is one that has almost changed my mind! I love the patterns and texture of this paper and with it being 70% recycled I feel really good about using it.

Of course the fact that the sketch was designed for Friday Sketchers by the wonderful Jacque made the job in hand all the better!I hope you are all looking forward to a great weekend.Katie

Happy Wednesday (Hump) Day!I'll be really honest, I was a scrapbooker long before I was a cardmaker. When digital scrapbooking came into view I was totally against it. How could a paper crafter be satisified without the feel of the paper and the glue under their fingers.So when I started to make cards and heard about digi stamps I was skeptical to say the least. But after I realised that you printed out an outline image and color it yourself I thought I may give it a try.I wondered if the ink would stand up to my Copic's but was willing to give it a try. I used my GP cardstock in my Kodak printer and after my first printing I was in heaven! I bought images from Cuddly Buddly and can't wait for more! The Kodak ink works beautifully with Copic's, it dries quickly and not a smear/smudge/run to be found. Now I'm on the look out for more digi images as they are cheap, cute and give me immediate gratification unlike waiting for my online order.I highly suggest finding some and trying some for yourself :)

The Charisma Cards Challenge was to use pink and brown and as that color combo is a favorite of mine I just had to use it.I used Annie Sitting from Cuddly Buddly and I love her! The papers were from DCWV The Garden Party stack.The sentiment is Cloud 9 and the flowers are Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby and the brown ones are Prima. The border punch is Martha Stewart.

So I hope you'll give digi stamps a try, there are so many wonderful companies using this method of art and it gives us immediate gratification at the touch of a button :)Katie

Happy Tuesday everyone!I came across this challenge at Dannis Dreams and as I love Fairies and Butterflies it was an easy one to want to join!

I used one of Lili's Faires from Lili of the Valley in the UK and all their stamps are on sale right now!I colored her with my Copic's in soft pinks and greys and then coated her wings with Glossy Accents.The challenge was Fairies or Butterflies but I made a hatpin with a lovely crystal butterfly so I covered all bases! LOL The sentiment was from Fiskars and the border punch is Martha Stewart.

We had such a cool Spring here in North TX that I was hoping for a cooler than usual start to Summer, no such luck!We are already getting mid 90's every day and with the humidity setting in the temps will be feeling in the triple digits any day now. Luckily my next door neighbor has a pool and we have a huge neighborhood pool so the water will be our very best friends :)I've been trying to do a sketch a day from the many out there to chose from and today's is from Sketch Saturday

This is one of my favorite Tilda's and you can get her at Magnolia-lious but I struggle a little with coloring her and I don't know why but I keep working on it ;). I used my Copic's and added a little silver to her wing and her shoes. The papers are DCWV from the Nana's Nursery Baby Girl stack.I had to add the butterflies as I made a mistake that I couldn't get to go away so I covered it up!

The inside is plain but I'll add something else later, I just wanted to get it finished as I have so many other challenges sitting out there waiting to be done!Have a great rest of your Monday.Katie